


The Forgotten Ranger

by Assassin_of_kings



Series: The Forgotten Ranger Trilogy [1]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Abuse, Cussing, Gen, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assassin_of_kings/pseuds/Assassin_of_kings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caledon, Cal, O'Carrick is on an extremely dangerous mission in The Mountains of Rain and Night. The young ranger has been assigned to spy on the ongoings of the traitor Morgarath, and so far she's found nothing. It's been quiet for her and it's just a matter of time before she heads back home....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one

A young ranger, Caledon, was on her second assignment, a very dangerous mission in the Mountains of Rain and Night. She had climbed up into one of the few trees she had been able to find to sleep. Currently the small ranger was huddled in her cloak, cold and wet from the fresh, few inches of snow that had fallen that morning. By this time the Three Steps Pass was now nearly impassable due to the amount of snow, and it had started earlier than years past.

The sixteen year old’ mission was to spend the fall months gathering intel on Morgarath, to find out if he was trying to gather an army, or anything of the sort. It had been quiet so far. Unfortunately, Autumn was not yet over and already she could not get back home, she’d have to wait for warmer weather. Perhaps if it didn’t snow for a few days it would have melted enough, but she very much doubted it.  
She sighed, chewing on some of the jerky she had. Her food supply was small enough as it was. She saw few birds, even fewer squirrels, and any she did find didn’t have enough meat on their bones. If only she had taken Halt’s advice. 

Her mentor, and guardian, Halt O’Carrick had told her to take more food even if it meant she would have to carry a heavier load, and another bag. She hadn’t expected to be stuck, though, she did have enough water.

Shaking her head, and laughing quietly to herself, she looked down at the snow. Halt would have scolded her for making light of a situation such as this one. Running a hand through her hair she again laughed quietly. Her black hair that was usually shoulder length only fell to about her ears. Not wanting it to get in the way, if she did run into trouble, she had cut it with her saxe knife; like Halt did very often. It was choppy, and was very uneven, but it didn’t get in the way of her work. 

She yawned widely, closing her eyes to sleep for the night. It had only been a few minutes before she heard a few voices, chatting quietly. She got very still, watching for movement. After a few minutes she finally saw a dark shadow, soon illuminated by a fire. She looked for any other men and saw two others, her training told her to stay still and use just her eyes to look for any others. 

After nearly thirty minutes later she saw no one else, just the three. They were now sitting around the fire and talking, more complaining about it being cold. Being very cautious she climbed down a few branches to listen to them, vital information to Morgarath was what she was after. 

Again after listening for awhile, and having heard nothing, she again climbed down. This time to get closer to the fire, it was very cold. She hadn’t seen the patch of ice on the branch she was stepping down on, which caused her to slip off. She gasped, landing on the hard ground ten feet below. Groaning, she tried sitting up, and it was a bad idea because she became very dizzy and blacked out. 

* * *

“Cal,” What Halt had nicknamed Caledon, “Feet! I can see them!” He was standing on the ground, staring up at where she was in a tall oak tree.

“My feet are hidden,” she shouted back. The twelve year old never seemed to do anything right. Being raised by a legend was bad enough, but also having him as her mentor was even worse.

Halt sighed, she couldn’t stay still for very long. He also hated her being so high in the tree, she was extremely unbalanced. “Trees don’t talk, young lady!” He turned around to give her a few moments to hide again. 

Cal huffed, annoyed, she had been at this for hours. She climbed to the opposite side of the tree, almost falling a few times. She placed her cloak on a few limbs, trying to make it look like it was being worn. After she was satisfied with it she climbed up a little.

Halt looked for her again, thinking he had found her. “Come down, Cal. We’ll just do some lessons.” He sighed when she didn’t move. “Cal! Caledon!” He huffed, being forced to climb up to her. When he pulled the hood of the cloak up, he found she wasn’t there. “What the hell?’

Cal looked down at him, smiling widely. “I win.”

* * *

When Cal finally came to,  her head was pounding. She groaned, trying to sit up, and to remember what happened. She was having a lot of trouble trying to sit up, and it took her a few minutes to figure out why, her hands were tied behind her back. It took another few minutes for her to remember she had fallen out of the tree, that explained everything. She was on the ground still, close to the fire. At least she wouldn’t freeze. After she made that stick in her head she fell back out of consciousness. 

The man who had been out on watch had noticed her struggling with her thoughts, though he didn’t care. It was strange that a boy, no, a girl was out here. Where fugitives and traitors ran if they weren’t killed first. He was tempted to tighten her restraints, but in her current state she wouldn’t be going anywhere. 

When she had been awake he had noticed the color of her eyes, black, just like her hair. She was also extremely short, couldn’t be more than five feet tall. He had so many questions for her, but those could wait until the morning.


	2. Chapter two

The next morning, or what Cal assumed was the next morning, she was groggy. Again she had to play through what had transpired the night before, remembering she had fallen out of a tree. When she tried to move her hands she nodded to herself. Her wrists were tied, that was what happened. Having fallen out of the tree she had been captured by those three men.

Her recollection was soon interrupted by one of the men.

“Wake up!” He kicked her leg roughly.

Cal yelled out in pain. The kick itself wouldn’t have hurt had there not been bruises up her entire leg. She did attempt to sit up, not wanting to be kicked again.

The man who had been on watch most of the previous night helped her sit up when he saw she was having trouble. “That was a nasty fall you had. Cut up your right leg, and got some nasty bruises.” 

She simply nodded at what he was saying, it sounded right. Still being very groggy, and trying to piece everything that was happening together.

“What were you doing up the tree?”

The man who kicked her huffed.

“Spying on us no doubt. Look at the weapons she has, the way she’s dressed. She’s probably one of those rangers.”

The other frowned. Rangers were not particularly liked, mostly hated, by anyone who escaped through the Three Steps Pass. Only a desperate and hunted man would ever do such a thing, one deemed too dangerous to live. 

He gently spoke to her. “I’m Maddox. Your name?” Perhaps showing her some kindness would help her.

“C-Cal..” She fought to get her nickname out. Thinking was hard, and it took a few minutes to get any words out, even just the one. 

The other man scoffed, Maddox was wasting his time. She would probably  be dead in a few weeks.

Maddox gave her some ale, to get her some liquid since her voice was hoarse.

Cal coughed, spitting most of it out. It was disgusting, in her head she had expected water. Though it did help just a little.

He laughed, “I agree, it’s absolutely horrible.” After giving her a bit more of it he helped to a nearby tree stump to sit against. This girl had something about her, even though she had a minor concussion, he could see the brilliant intelligence, and cunning in her dark eyes. It did look familiar, but he couldn’t place it so he shrugged it off. With a sigh he got up to see if there was any  help needed with the food.

As she watched them work, Cal worked on getting the ropes off her wrists. Her mind was still fogged, and she found the ropes confusing, but her training was still there. As she worked  her hands found the right places to fray the ropes, and work at the knots, soon having it off. The problem she faced now was getting away.

Knowing that she wasn’t in any condition to actually run she just watched her three captors. Maddox, the nicer one, was joking around with the one cooking, who seemed quiet. Neither were paying her much attention, but they both seemed strong. Even with the training she had to take down much bigger opponents than herself, her weapons weren’t with her. The other, the one who had kicked her, was on watch. He didn’t seem as strong as the other two, but he was very observant, and he kept glancing at her every minute or two. In her state she wouldn’t be able to make it very far before they either killed her, or caught her. Her escape would have to wait. 

She closed her eyes, falling into actual sleep. 

When she woke up again, it was dark, and it was again a different place. Her wrists were again tied, though tighter this time. She quickly sat up, finally realizing the gravity of the situation she was in. These three men most likely worked for, or with, Morgarath.

The quiet man was on watch, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Mostly he was poking at the fire. Once he noticed her he said, “ You slept through the rest of  the day. Two hours until sunrise, all night too.” 

It still took her a minute to process what he said. She had been very out of it. He told her about what happened. That previous morning she hadn’t woken up and they had been forced to carry her, again in the afternoon. She nodded as he spoke to let him know she was listening; hoping her would tell her where they were going. He stopped talking after he finished with telling her what had happened, which wasn’t much.

It was silent until almost an hour after sunset when one of the two men asleep got up, the one who had kicked her. He went off by himself for a few minutes. Once back he roughly shoved Cal out of the way with his foot.

“Why don’t we just kill this bitch?”

“You said she could be a ranger.” The quiet one spoke for Maddox, though he really could not care less what happened to this girl. Maddox had said that she reminded him of his own daughter, though he hadn’t seen her in almost twenty years. 

They argued about why they should, or shouldn’t, kill Cal until Maddox got up because of it.

“We are not killing her because Lord Morgarath will want any, and all, information she knows. And if he finds out we killed someone who potentially could carry valuable information, we’re all dead.” After he made that point they both shut up, he was right.

Cal didn’t show that his statement made her absolutely terrified. She knew of Morgarath, she had heard many stories. The stories changed about him as a person, and his appearance, but his personality never changed. He was a ruthless, yet clever, man who had tried and take over Araluen. And he hated rangers with a passion, especially Halt. Whatever was in store for her, she had a feeling it would make her wish she were dead.


	3. Chapter Three

Over the course of that morning Cal got a new set of cuts and bruises. She would trip on roots hidden under the snow, be shoved out of the way if she was moving too slow, or slip on a patch of ice. Her hands being tied behind her back she had no way to stop her fall, so she would hit the ground. 

Walking up one of the small hills the angry man shoved her out of his way, which caused her to stumble and fall. She hit a thin patch of ice that shattered on impact, cutting her cheek. After that had happened the quiet one picked her up, to keep from them having to stop, and slung her over his shoulder. She protested greatly about that, spitting curses at them in every language she knew. Mostly shouting at them in Halt’s native tongue, Hibernian. Not being able to listen to much more he dropped her after walking a couple hundred feet, then gagged her and continued in the before fashion. 

Maddox frowned, he didn’t mind so much she was quiet, but the way it had been done bothered him. He was unfortunately growing attached to this small person, even if she was a ranger. The other was smirking, happy she had been shut up like she had.

Cal glared at both the men, and tried her best to kick the one carrying her, but to no avail. He held her legs down as soon as she tried kicking. She wished she had taken Halt more seriously when they had done scenario’s that she had been captured. She had thought it was stupid before, not so much anymore.

They stopped for a short break about non. When she was out down she spotted a castle, though a small one. Nothing as grand, and beautiful, as King Duncan’s palace, but still a castle. Realizing that’s where they were heading, terror filled her once again. It would only be a few hours before she met the infamous traitor, and she did not doubt she would be met with fierce hostility. 

Maddox wandered over to her after a few minutes, taking the gag out and giving her some water. He didn’t know much about her, actually nothing aside from her name. She must have a family of some sort that would miss her, but maybe she didn’t. Perhaps she didn’t have anyone to miss her if she just disappeared for virtually no reason. He would never know unless he asked. 

“Do you have a family?” He asked her as he put some snow in a rag and held it to her cut cheek. 

The question, and act of kindness, honestly surprised her. The only family she had ever known was Halt, and that wasn’t even a blood relation. Gilan was like her brother, but he would never admit to loving her like a sister. These people didn’t need to know anything about her life. “No,” she answered with a cold expression. 

He felt sorry for her. No family to love and miss her, but it was probably a good thing as well that she didn’t. He fixed her restraints so her hands were now in front of her.

“Hold this to your cheek.” He instructing, putting the snow filled rag in her hands. 

Nearly half an hour later they headed off towards the castle, this time letting Cal walk. The closer they got, the more fear gripped onto her. She was doing a very good job of it until her actions started betraying her feelings, and that was when she saw a Wargal. At just a glance one would think it was just a bear, but to look at it and find it was more a mix of a bear and a large dog. She stopped, frozen in fear where she was. Maddox had to shove her to urge her to go forward. Oh, how she wished she could reach the set of throwing knives she kept hidden in her boots. 

Once they arrived in the courtyard Cal had to be pulled along, fear keeping her feet from moving on their own. Even though she still wasn’t letting her face show the pure terror she was feeling, every step she didn’t take showed it. The main hall was surprisingly well lit, though, that did little to calm her fears. Nearer to the end of the hall she was shoved down to her knees. She had gotten a glimpse of a person standing at a table, but she quickly had looked down at the floor. 

Morgarath looked up from the map he was inspecting, and was instantly intrigued by what he saw. A young woman who couldn’t be anymore than her late teens. Small, black hair, and small build. Her dress was simple, most likely allowing her to move without being seen. Rolling up the map he kept looking her over. He took his time, making her wait even longer, only then did he make his way over to where she was.

“Maddox, what is this?” He had no need to ask, he had already figured out the portion he cared most about, the type of weapons that Maddox was carrying confirmed his suspicions. 

“She fell out a tree, my lord,” Maddox answered, amused by it. Even cracked a small smile by how amusing he found it.

The expression Morgarath had made it painfully obvious he didn’t find it the least bit amusing. He addressed this ranger without looking down at her. 

“Stand up,” he ordered her, not even expecting her to do anything of the sort. If she knew who he was, and still refused to do anything, she was in all ways one of Duncan’s rangers. When she didn’t move he pulled her roughly to her feet. “I ordered you to stand.”

Cal kept her head down, too scared to look up at him. With all the stories she had heard growing up, she had expected a very different voice. His was nasally, like his nose had been broken in years past. Even when he ordered her to look at him, she defied it.

He took a knife out, placing it under her chin to force her to look at him. The black eyes were a surprise, they were much like his own in the color. The fear that was there made him smile for a split second, so she did know who he was. 

“Your name.” He waited a few moments for her to answer. When she didn’t, he pressed the knife hard enough against her skin to make blood trickle down her throat. Once the unspoken threat had been made he let up on the pressure.

She spoke quietly, “Caledon.” Now seeing him, he didn’t match many of the stories she had heard. She had heard so many versions of the same event, but only pieces of each story appeared to be true. He wore all black, longish blond hair, and a slightly hooked nose that looked like it again, had been broken. He was also very tall, a good foot and half taller than her. She only stood at four feet and eleven inches. His eyes were black, and there was an extreme amount of rage behind them.

“Why are you here.” Again, a command to tell him. He removed the knife from her neck so that she could talk freely.

Cal took a small, yet deep, breath. “Your men captured me.” Her voice just dripped with sarcasm. She gasped in pain when she was slapped hard across the face. It was hard enough to make her stumble back and fall backwards. 

Maddox picked her up, placing her on her feet. It had sounded like it would have just put her in  an immense amount of pain. He could tell she was doing her best to hold back tears, but they were still filling her eyes. Her cheek was red, and now had a very distinct hand mark. What made it look even worse was the cut that was already on her cheek.

Morgarath’s voice was calm, yet his eye’s were full of anger. “ I don’t tolerate sarcasm, young lady.” He then addressed Maddox, “Lock her in a cell. Perhaps time will help to loosen her tongue.”


	4. Chapter Four

Cal was taken down to the dungeon, being pushed every couple of steps. They took her cloak, her boots, and the twelve throwing knives that were in her boots. Six of the knives in each boot. She was shoved into the cell, falling onto the stone floor. Thankfully, when she was left alone, the lamp was left outside her cell. 

She stayed on the floor for a few minutes before finally sitting up. She gingerly touched her cheek, hissing in pain and quickly pulling her hands away. It was swollen, perhaps bruised, she couldn’t tell. Leaning against the wall the let out a half defeated sigh. T was freezing, and damp, and terrifying. She had to stay strong, no matter what was done to her, no matter what was said to her, that was one thing she had to do. 

Morgarath was pacing, agitated. This young woman, this ranger was here. It was very concerning, she could know something about what he was planning. 

“Tell me again how you discovered her.”

Maddox was setting her weapons down on a table.

“We were setting up camp after a long day of walking, exhausted. Set up the fire to warm up, all of us freezing. We hear a crash, and look over. There she was, passed out unconscious on the ground beneath the tree.” He picked up one of the three dozen throwing knives that had been on her, not counting the dozen in her boots, of varying sizes and shapes.

Morgarath picked one up, one of the smaller ones, inspecting it. He tested the weight, tossing it into the table a few times. They were very well taken care of, and so were the other weapons, but the throwing knives more so. They were sharp, but not to sharp as to slid away from the enemy. Each one also had a small design etched into the middle of the blade, along with the initials of the craftsman on the handle. A ‘C’ and an ‘O’. Perhaps she made them herself. It wasn’t hard to imagine if she was a master in the art of throwing them, she would want them to be perfect for her. 

“Did she have anything else on her?”

Maddox shrugged. “Nothing of importance, just a necklace in the shape of a leaf. It could have been an oak, but I don’t know trees very well.”

It meant a great deal to her if it was an oak leaf, and not having it would affect her deeply. It was a symbol of loyalty and respect to the rangers. From a tiny acorn came a sturdy and steadfast tree. The rangers were that thing that kept the kingdom from falling to ruin. That’s why they picked that as their symbol.

“Take it from her.”

Maddox nodded, excusing himself. After some hours he went to go do as he was ordered, and to check on Cal. He saw she was leaning against the bars, and visibly shaking from the cold. A pang of guilt hit him. 

“It would be easier if you cooperated.”

Cal glared at him. “And betray everything I stand for, my country, my king. Be a traitor. Never.”

“You would just have to answer a few questions. Wouldn’t have to be anything major.” He crouched down so they were face to face. She was clutching her necklace, probably did mean a lot. He felt bad he had to take it. “I was ordered to take that.”

It felt like it physically hurt when he pried it from her hand, and off her neck. She had a strong attachment to that symbol. When she had expressed interest in the work Halt did, he had made her a wooden oak leaf. He explained what it meant to wear it, and that each person who wore it was held to a standard. Then when she received her bronze oak leaf after actually becoming his apprentice, she had felt so much pride. She had also seen an enormous amount of pride in Halt’s eyes when she was given her silver oak leaf, the thing just taken from her. 

She was still a ranger, with or without it. She still had the training, and the standard she held to. It still didn’t feel right.

He saw the pain on her face, pushing down the guilt. While slowly going back upstairs he looked over the peculiar necklace. She kept good care of this even better than the knives. It looked like it was cleaned regularly, no dirt or scratches on any of it. Morgarath wasn’t in the main hall anymore, most likely the safe assumption was his study. Going up another flight of stairs and a short hall, he knocked on a door. He walked in after being instructed. 

He found Morgarath reading a book. He always forgot how many books he actually had, and maps. 

“Here’s the necklace.” He held it up for him to see before setting it on the desk in the middle of the room. 

“Good. I do doubt she is in a talking mood.”

“No, but she is freezing.” He told him, hoping he would want to bring her up to talk. That way he wouldn’t feel absolutely terrible. 

“Leave her down there for tonight.” He went back to reading his book, which gave the impression he was done with the conversation. 

Cal paced for a while, trying to stay warm. She couldn’t sleep, too afraid if she did she would not wake up again. The night was extremely long, just seeming to get colder as it went on. When she did doze off, leaning against the bars of the cell, it was already morning. Someone shortly woke her up by kicking the bars she was leaning against. She jumped awake, looking up to see who it was. She quickly, but lazily stood up. 

Morgarath was standing there, one of her knives in his hand. She looked absolutely exhausted, and she was shivering from how cold it was. 

“I trust you did not enjoy your night.”

Without missing a beat she answered, “I had a wonderful tea with the king, and a pleasant stroll as well.” Cal stepped back, seeing the anger in his eyes.

“I won’t repeat myself again, girl, I do not tolerate sarcasm.” 

She needed to watch her tongue, and that’s what she would do. “Yes...sir. I apologize.” It hurt to say, but she didn’t mean it. 

He smiled, it was crooked, small, and devoid of any actual emotion. She knew when to be respectful, that was good. He showed her the knife. 

“Tell me, did you make this?”

All she had to do was glance at it to tell it was hers. She nodded, sorely wishing it was in her hands. 

“It’s very good craftsmanship. Not perfect by any means.” he turned it to the handle so she could see it. “The ‘C’ is obvious, but the ‘O’. You didn’t say your last name.”

She lied, “Olson. My last name is Olson.”

He opened the cell door, grabbing her arm and cutting the ropes off her wrists. He kept a tight hold of her as he took her up to his study. He instructed her to sit in the seat on one side of his desk, and she did. 

Cal looked around at the shelves of books, and maps, it was amazing how he could have gotten this all here. Some of the maps were half rolled up, or neatly put away, or just laying in a stack. There was also a set of writing quills on the desk, along with a rather expensive looking ink well. 

Morgarath placed her knife, and necklace, in the middle of the table. He allowed her a few minutes to warm up and to look around. He didn’t say anything until her eyes landed on her things. 

“This is yours? You didn’t find it.” It never hurt just to be sure.

“It is mine, I received it from my mentor.” He knew already that she was a ranger, so there was no point to lie about that. 

He pushed it a few inches forward to taunt her. He could estimate how much she knew with his next question. “How long have you been a ranger?”

She hated the way he spat out the word, full of hate and disrespect. 

“Around six months.” That was also a lie, it was closer to a year. 

Well, she would know some if she was telling the truth. He continued to ask her questions, growing increasingly more frustrated. No family, no special relations to anyone, unless she was lying about it. 

“Are you lying to me.”

She was surprised he had figured it out, and the surprise showed. “No.”

“I really can’t be sure. You could be lying about being a ranger. All I have is your word on it, and that really means nothing to me. You could just be lying to me so I kill you later and give you a few extra weeks alive.” He picked her necklace up as he talked. “This could just be  trinket, nothing, no value to you. Or it could have great sentimental and symbolic value.”

Cal tried taking it from him, failing as he threw it at the fire. She watched in pure horror as the flames licked angrily at the edges of her most prized possession. One of the few things that was irreplaceable to her. 

He was smirking, satisfied with the response of absolute horror. After this act she may not be so quick to lie to him. Just watching this young ranger’s face was almost reward enough. The amount of anger that appeared in her eyes after the horror faded was astonishing. Her emotions were all displayed in her dark eyes. Horror, then sadness, and followed by that, anger and determination. He hoped to find out what that determination was.


	5. Chapter Five

Cal glared into the burning abyss that stole away her prized possession. She wanted to kill Morgarath. All she had to do was reach over, grab the knife, lean across the table and stab it in his neck. It was simple enough to think of it. She quickly reached down and grabbed the throwing knife, but once her knee was up on the desk to lean across, she was redirected so the knife went harmlessly into the wood of the desk. Her breaths were quick, extremely upset. She was fiercely glaring at her captor, finding her had the same expression.

He was gripping her wrists tightly, not noticing it was hard enough to leave bruises, not like he cared. She had gotten dangerously close, halfway across the space between them before he had reacted. 

“You’ll be sorry you did that.” There was anger behind his voice, furious he had let her get so close. He pried the knife from her hands, though kept a tight hold of her wrists. 

“If I didn’t think you had valuable information you would be dead, girl.” He pushed her away from the desk roughly, causing her to fall on the floor. 

She rubbed her wrists, they hurt a lot already, and bruises were starting to form. She wasn’t going to give him any information he wanted. 

“You’re better off to just kill me.” The smile he gave her sent a shiver down her spine. It was twisted and evil.

He got up from the desk and grabbed her arm, almost dragging her out of the room before she stood up. 

“You’ll be wishing you were dead, ranger. I’m not killing you until you tell me everything you know.” He took her back down to the dungeon, throwing her into another cell. This one was smaller than the last, only about six feet in either direction, the door was also wooden and only had a small window with bars. He locked her in before leaving her alone in the dark. 

Cal rammed her shoulder into the door a few times, screaming out curses at him. She started pacing around the small space after a few minutes. It was cold, dark, damp, and worst of all extremely quiet. The other three she could handle, but quiet, especially this eerie quiet she couldn’t handle. It made it sound like whenever she breathed it echoed. After another few hours she kept jumping at every little thing she heard, including her own breathing. The darkness was starting to make her jumpy, and the fact she was going to most likely be tortured wasn’t helping. She kept imagining different things were screaming. After a while that was all she could think about, torture and how she would be tortured. All she focused on was the pain aspect of it, not the psychological torture. That of which she was unknowingly enduring at the moment.   
It wasn’t until the next day that someone brought her some food, water, and a lamp. She blinked when the light entered the room, taking a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to it from the hours of darkness. She was hugging her knees to her chest, sitting against the wall. Once her eyes adjusted she saw it was Maddox that had brought her the food. 

“Brought you food and water.” He set it down on a stool he had brought in with him, setting it next to her. He stayed with her while she ate, she needed some company. The mental torture she was being made to handle, he thought, was unnecessary and wrong. Wounds from  a knife could heal, but not one’s to the mind. 

She was starving, not having eaten since she got captured. It felt like weeks when in fact it had only been a few days.  She did eat slowly, not wanting to over do it, or seem desperate.  The water had a strange aroma to it, but she drank it anyway. 

Maddox felt that pang of guilt again.

“It as a sleeping powder in it,” he mumbled. It felt wrong to let her drink it, but it also felt wrong to tell her.

She looked at him for a minute, thinking she had heard him say something. After a few big gulps of water she started to feel drowsy. Realizing too late what was in the water before she passed out.

 

* * *

Gilan sat down on the on steps of Halt’s cabin next to Cal. She had cursed at Halt for the third time that week, he thought in Hibernian.

“What’s going on?” he was worried about her. Even though she had a horrible temper usually she kept it under control.

She shrugged with one shoulder, throwing a knife into the ground.

“Did Halt send you out here to talk to me?” When he didn’t want to talk to her himself he always had Gilan, or anyone else that was around talk to her. 

He smiled at her. “No, just me this time. Talk to me, what’s going on in that stupid mind of yours.” He nudged her, she was like a little sister to him. 

She shrugged again. “I suppose I’m scared, with getting our oak leaves. What if I do something horribly stupid, and ruin the ranger name. What if I fail, or do something and Halt is disappointed in me.” She didn’t want to mess up at all. Being the youngest ranger, and the first female one, was a lot of weight put on her. 

“I guess you won’t know unless it happens. You could do something catastrophic and destroy the kingdom.” He looked at her and laughed at her expression. “I doubt you would do anything that bad. Halt’s going to be here for the both of us, and we have Crowley, and the other rangers too. If we ever needed help.”

She nodded, pushing him over. “I’m still not allowed inside until I hit the bullseye five hundred times.”

“Better get started than, Shorty.” Gilan’s favorite nickname for her. 

She spat her tongue out at him. “Whatever, Giant.”

 

* * *

When she woke up she had a minor headache, nothing as bad as when she fell out of the tree. The bad part, she discovered, she was blindfolded and her wrists were tied again. Her ankles were also tied to the legs of the chair she was in. The room was warm, not cold like the others, there had to be a fire. 

“If anyone is there you had better let me go!” She listened for a moment to see if anyone was there. “If you don’t I’ll make sure you are the one I kill first when I escape!” She heard the door open, and someone walk in.

“I very highly doubt you would do either one of things, girl.” Morgarath spoke firmly, with the authority he lost years ago. He sat in front of her.

She swallowed nervously, trying to mentally prepare herself for the torture she was going to have to endure.

Over the course of the next few hours he asked her questions, keeping to the simpler one’s like her name, age, things about her life and about herself. She lied about everything again, hearing him grow more and more frustrated. She screamed when he slammed a knife into the arm of the chair. 

“The next time you lie this knife isn’t going into the chair!” He was leaning over her, intimidating despite the fact she was blindfolded. “Let’s try this again. Your age.”

Cal swallowed nervously again. Either it was get a cold blade in her flesh, or give into his intimidation. “Nineteen.” It was very much a stretch. She cursed, in pain, when he sliced the knife across her arm. He knew where to cut so she didn’t bleed very much, but it was still very painful. She was being asked the same few, simple questions, which she kept lying about.

After she had a good collection of cuts on her arms and legs, he decided it was time for a small break.

“I’ll give you a few minutes to think about this, since it seems to be extremely difficult for you. When I come back I want your age, the real one.” He left her alone.

She let out a shaky breath. She was in a lot of pain, and her tears were starting to soak into the blindfold. Just saying she was sixteen wouldn’t be groundbreaking thing, neither would her last name. Maybe it would be the worst thing she did, right now she didn’t care. She wanted the pain to stop.

When Morgarath came back some minutes later, she told him, “Sixteen, that’s my actual age.” It was quiet, feeling she had done something horribly wrong.

He wasn’t much surprised, though it did make her the youngest ranger to date. That had to mean there was something special about her if she was allowed to be a full fledged ranger at such a young age. “And your name.”

“O’Carrick.” She answered, barely speaking. When he didn’t say anything she assumed he hadn’t heard her. 

“My name is O’Carrick,” She said it louder.

He grimaced at the name, growing furious. There was only one man he knew with that last name, and that had brought about his downfall at his hour of victory.

“Mentor. Now.” The rage very evident in his voice.

“Halt O’Carrick.” She answered, knowing very well he hated her guardian. Halt had been the one to stop his plan of  taking over the kingdom. She flinched when she heard the other chair hit the stone of either the floor or the wall. 

He wanted to kill her, get some type of revenge. Though, killing her would be too quick. She was young, moldable, obviously meant  great deal to the old ranger if she had his last name. Also she potentially valuable information, killing her would be the a waste of an important resource. Using her would be much sweeter revenge than killing her.


	6. Chapter Six

Cal groaned in pain, lying on the cold stone floor of her cell. It helped to ease the pain of the cuts and bruises she had, along with  few burns she had. Morgarath wasn’t one to give up easily. She never told him much, just things about herself, but a week of physical and psychological torture was starting to wear down her resolve.

The door swung open just as she had closed her eyes. Yelling out in pain because she was grabbed by her arm where a burn was, it was very unpleasant. The man who grabbed her dragged her to the room where she kept being tortured. She had hoped for a day to rest from this, but Morgarath wasn’t going to let his ruthless reputation be tainted, apparently. 

She saw him leaning against the wall, next to the fire, and he looked bored. He probably was, he never did the torture himself. 

“Are you going to cooperate today?” He sighed, bored of her games. He shook his head when she glared at him. “That’s your choice, Caledon.”

She spat at him, a quiet whimper escaping her when she was backhanded. Her eyes widened when she watched him pull a glowing, red, hot brand out of the fire. There was a hint of joy in his eyes. She attempted to get away from the man holding her, but her pushed her onto the table holding tightly to her left arm and head. He was slightly pushing her down, making it hard for her to move. 

She only got a glimpse of the symbol, but it looked like the Gorlan fief sigil. The picture of traitors and liars, in her head. It was a fallen fief that was now part of Redmont fief. It felt like hours before the burning metal was pressed to her skin. Her scream was full of agony, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was on her shoulder blade for a good minute before it was taken off. She could smell her flesh burning, and hear the sizzling of it. 

When she was let go, she pulled her left arm close to her body. It didn’t do much to ease the pain on her shoulder blade, but it was something. She slowly stood up, her vision blurry from the tears and the pain. 

The thought of having that traitors mark on her left shoulder blade was almost as painful as the actual brand itself, but emotionally painful. The pain was starting to be bearable, barely, but she would rather not have to endure it. 

Morgarath had thought she would be on the floor in tears, not standing up holding them back with shallow breaths. She was resilient, he had to give her that. 

“Sit down.” He was stern with her.

Cal did as she was told, leaning over her knees. She couldn’t keep doing this. She didn’t want to endure anymore torture, couldn’t take anymore cuts and burns and scars. She was done, and it made her feel sick. Did it make her a traitor if her life was on the line, she didn’t think it was. She couldn’t afford to think like that. Even if she had been trained not to talk, even under torture, she could not stay silent and endure anymore. 

He crouched in front of her, lifting her chin up so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. 

“Are you ready to cooperate with me yet Caledon?” He smiled for a split second when her pain was still very evident on her face.  His assumption was that it wasn’t just the physical pain of her burnt skin. 

She gave a small nod, ashamed of herself. Halt would be ashamed of her, but maybe he would do the same thing in her place. She’d never know. She flinched and pulled away when Morgarath patted her cheek. It would have been almost endearing if it had not been him. 

“I’ll have someone get you a better cell. You’ll be staying for awhile.” He got up, changing his tone from stern to commanding. “Take her to my study for now, and keep an eye on her.”

She was being taken up to the study when they passed Maddox. He saw she wasn’t resisting, which she usually did. He then noticed her shoulder when they passed him. He felt partially responsible and replaced the guard who was escorting her up to the study.

In the study he helped her the best he could, wrapping up deeper cuts and the burns. He didn’t feel like it was much help, but he got a very small smile from  her. 

“You need a good rest, nice long good night’s sleep. That’s what you need.”

“I would like that.” She agreed. Rest sounded wonderful. Having been tortured for the past week, and now with that morally degrading sigil burned into her skin, she needed a good night’s sleep. She was emotionally, physically, and mentally drained. 

The following day she was left alone, in a bedroom that was more a makeshift prison cell. It had a bed, a stool, a small table, and most important was it had a fireplace. Maddox would bring her food, and just keep her company. He would put a healing salve on the brand, to help the healing process along. Cal never protested to any of it, glad she at least had her cloak and boots back. 

Morgarath asked about her condition towards the end of the evening. 

“She’s very distraught, and she won’t speak to me, or say anything.” Maddox replied when he was asked. 

He made the decision to visit her, try to get a range of what she would give him as far as information went. He was in no rush to get to her makeshift cell, doing other things he had been meaning to do, which was messing with different elixirs. 

After a few hours he finally got around to going to the room she was in. He knocked, though there wasn’t much need to. When he unlocked it and opened the door, he found her practicing swordsmanship with a broken stool leg. The stool it had come from was sitting next to the fire. Her usage of it was sloppy and slow, she either had never used her right hand for it, or she just didn’t know how to use a makeshift sword. 

Cal dropped it when she saw him standing in the doorway. Knowing a little from what Gilan had shown her, and she decided to practice. It was hard having to use her right hand, being left handed. 

“How is your shoulder feeling?” He didn’t much care for the answer. 

She didn’t answer for a few minutes, but when he sat down she finally answered quietly. “It hurts like hell.” After another minute of silence she also added, “It’s also sore.” 

He frowned a little, turning her so he could look at it. It was fine. “Keep it exposed to air as much as possible. I don’t want you dying from an infection.” He pushed her away roughy, which caused her to trip and fall. 

“Screw you traitor,” She mumbled, moving to get up. 

He heard, and put a foot on her hand, putting as much weight as he could on it from sitting. 

“Do not speak to me in that manner again, young lady.” He pressed his foot down on her fingers.

She cried out in pain as he did, instinctively trying to pull her hand away which added to the pain. She knew that pain, her fingers were broken.

“Did you not hear me?” He added more pressure to her fingers. 

“Yes..yes, sir.” She spoke through clenched teeth, trying not to yell out in pain again. When he didn’t move his hand away she spat out, “Yes...my lord.” 

He finally moved his foot away from her hand. Her fingers looked broken. She should not have spoken to him in the manner she did, even if she didn’t intend for him to hear it. He left the room without speaking to her, a small, victorious smile across his lips. He ordered Maddox to go take care of her.  

Maddox was bandaging her  hand up soon after, having to finish something else he was doing before he could.

“You really shouldn’t be so sarcastic. This is what happens. There, now don’t use that hand as much as possible for a few weeks” he continued to talk to her, mostly to keep her company.

Cal wasn’t listening, looking at her now bandaged hand. She really should have known not to say that, it just popped out before she thought about what she was saying.  Halt always said that was one of her biggest problems, she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Her mouthing off and being too sarcastic. She did get the sarcasm from Halt, but he knew when to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t her fault, he had always been sarcastic and she just picked it up. Though, the mouthing off and cursing at people was all her problem. 

It would be a very, very long couple of weeks. If she even survived that long. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Over the next couple of weeks Cal was asked about the rangers and the kingdom. She gave simple answers, only things that would cause little to no harm to anyone. Even though she tried to justify what she was doing she still felt awful. Like a complete and utter traitor to everything she stood for. She wasn’t being tortured anymore, that was how she justified what she told Morgarath about. 

If she said anything snarky she would get slapped, if she was within reach. If not he would degrade her profession. He would hit her injured hand with something if she didn’t answer an question that she was asked. She stopped not answering him after the first few times he did it, and kept her hands out of his reach. She eventually wasn’t slapped when Morgarath realized she wasn’t going to stop with the sarcasm. He still hated it though.

He noticed that she would mess with something, a necklace, when he was interrogating her. He let her keep it until one day when she wasn’t saying anything. She was just sitting across from him with a bored look on her face, and he was done with it. He grabbed her wrist tightly, which made her loosen her grip on it. He took it from her and put it in his desk drawer without even a glance at it. 

Cal growled out, “That was my mother’s!” Everything else had been taken from her, and now her mother’s necklace. 

“Answer the damned questions.” He was pissed off, but he didn’t let his voice rise. The anger could still be heard in it though. 

They stared at each other with hard gazes for a few moments before Cal had to look away. She bit down on her tongue to keep from saying anything she would regret. She had already done that in the past week, and she ended up getting a new collection of bruises. She didn’t need another collection of them. 

Morgarath stared at the young ranger, she reminded him of someone. He didn’t think it was important at the moment. “Perhaps depriving you of food will curve your attitude.” He called Maddox into the room, frowning at how long it took him. 

“Yes, sir?” He hadn’t been doing anything and he was sort of in charge of Caledon, but he didn’t care to do anything when he was told. 

“Take her back to her cell, and don’t give her food until I say so. Understood?” His gaze was cold and hard, his hand on the hilt of his sword he always kept at his hip. 

Maddox gave a slight nod before taking Cal back to her room. She must have done something, but he didn’t ask. Right before he walked of the study, Morgarath also said, “Also, no water for twenty four hours.”

He frowned, but nodded. She really pissed him off. Someone as small as Cal could only take so much punishment before they gave up, and he thought she would have already. She was a very hard willed person. 

Once back in the room Cal paced around. Her mother’s necklace was taken, her oak leaf necklace was gone. Her loyalty to her king had been taken, her weapons, everything. Now she wasn’t even allowed to eat anything. She couldn’t let that change anything, he didn’t want her dead, just beaten down. After a few days to a week he would give her food, hopefully. 

Any information he  actually wanted could prove disastrous for the ranger’s, and for King Duncan. She knew little about the king himself, but she knew a lot about the kingdom, and she was pretty sure she knew everything about the rangers. Every advantageous place was laid out in her head like a map, and every disadvantageous place. 

She reached to fiddle with her mother’s necklace, glaring at the floor when it wasn’t there. She sighed, sitting down. Halt could never tell her if her mother was dead or not, he didn’t know. She was just an abandoned two year old with her mother’s necklace. She had never felt like an orphan, she had always had Halt. He treated her like his own, even if sometimes he acted more like a mentor than a father, but that was just Halt. She felt like an orphan right then, no one to help her. Everything against her. She wished she could go back in time to when she was a child, nothing to worry about except it getting dark out. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Cal was laying on her cot that was in her makeshift cell, staring at the ceiling. It had already been two days that she had been deprived of food, and her stomach kept growling. She had nothing to do except pace around, or sleep. She chose the latter of the two choices.

 

* * *

Halt, Gilan, and Cal were sitting at the table playing cards. They had started playing after dinner once Halt had put a pot of coffee on the stove. He was letting the two apprentices have a relaxing evening. They would be full-fledged rangers in a couple months, and he was extremely proud of them, though he wouldn’t show it to them. He was also scared, but would never admit that, even to himself. The coffee pot was whistling loudly but he didn’t seem to hear it.

Cal looked over at it. Then at Halt. He seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. “Halt, the coffee.” When he didn’t seem to hear her she poked his arm.

He looked up from his cards, looking at her for a moment before hearing the whistling pot calling for attention. “Don’t look at my cards you two cheaters.”

Gilan chuckled, looking at his cards when Halt had his back turned. 

“A full hand. I think he’s the one cheating.” He chuckled when Cal slapped his hand away from her father’s cards.

“Please, you’ve been cheating this whole time.” She shook her head. They were talking softly so Halt didn’t hear them. They argued playfully about it until Halt sat back down, setting three mugs of coffee down for them. 

They played for  couple hours, all of them cheating in a variety of ways. None of them said anything until Halt got up to go to bed.

“Get that ace out of you sleeve and put in on the table Caledon.” He shook his head in mock disappointment. 

She put it on the table, then said, “Like you can say anything, stacking your cards.”

He shook his head, going to his room.

Gilan and Caledon continued to play for awhile, making some more coffee. They both had stopped cheating, since it wasn’t fun to without Halt. There was a strong wind, and it sounded eerie. It was usually quiet this late at night, but it was very eerie this time. Gilan had just handed out the cards for the both of them when Cal stood.

“Come check on the horses with me, please.”

He shrugged, getting up and going out with her. The wind was cold, and he wrapped himself in his cloak, the same as Cal did. 

Highness, Cal’s pony was restless, and seemed a little bit spooked. She called him over and stroked his muzzle. “Hey Highness. Here’s an apple for you.” He didn’t take it until she took a bite out of it. Her pony was extremely stubborn and high strung to a point. She couldn't ask for a better partner though. 

Gilan gave Blaze half an apple, giving Abelard the other half. “Don’t tell Halt I gave you that.” He chuckled, it seemed like the horse talked to their mentor. Cal walked over and pet Abelard, smiling and putting her forehead on his muzzle. The small horse treated her with respect and gentleness, unlike Gilan who he was rougher with. Even nipping playfully occasionally, otherwise he was like Halt. Stern and mentor like. 

Highness whinnied, stamping his hoof before pushing his nose under Cal’s arm. She wasn’t giving him the attention she was giving Abelard. She giggled, rubbing them both.

Gilan watched with Blaze, his beautiful mare. Cal had a way with her father’s horse, and her own. She loved them so much, and he loved seeing the respect she gave them. And the respect they gave her. It was a gorgeous thing to watch. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Maddox walked in and set down a pitcher, and glass, of water the next morning. Cal woke up because of the noise, which wasn't his intention. He poured and handed her a cup of water since she had woken up. She seemed to be doing alright, for now. She did look a bit paler than she had before, probably due to the lack of food providing her energy. 

“How are you?” He asked her once she had downed the water.

“Hungry,” She grumpily stated. She had gone before a few days without food before, but that was because she had been a stubborn ten year old and wouldn't eat what Halt had made. It had now been three days, and her stomach was hurting. 

He sat in the chair that had been replaced prior before. “I can't do anything about that. I have my orders, and that's just to give you water.” He sighed, feeling a twinge of guilt. Perhaps he could sneak her a small something later on that day. 

She huffed, crossing her arms. She didn't want to give up any important information about Araluen, but it seemed to eat she would have to. She ran her hands through her short, black hair, it was difficult to decide. Morgarath probably wouldn't starve her to death, but it was likely he would give her just enough food to survive. And it was safe to assume that he would torture her more, a lot more. Her resolve was slowly starting to break down, it would soon be gone she feared. 

Maddox got up with a sigh, leaving since she wasn't talking at all. He would go back that evening to bring her more water. 

*           *          *

 

That evening Cal was fixing the fire a bit, trying to get more light. She didn't have any tools, being forced to use whatever she could find. Which was the empty pitcher.

Maddox brought her another pitcher of water, frowning when he saw her having some trouble with the fire. He put the water down and left for a while before coming back with wood and a long branch. 

“This should be enough for a couple days.” He stacked it next to the fireplace for her.

“Thank you Maddox. I do appreciate it.” She sat on her bed once he fixed the fire. He was nicer to her, but she was still a captive. He didn't treat her like she wasn't. She preferred it to being treated like a friend in this situation. 

He left again, wishing her a good night. 

Cal got up and fixed the fire so it cast more light across the small room. Strange shadows were dancing menacingly across the walls, wanting her gone..wanting her dead. 

“I didn't want to be here,” She whispered to the darkness that was closing surrounding her. She sat on the cot once again, hugging her knees to her chest. The ever growing shadows seemed like they were trying to close in on her, and the longer she stared the more it looked like there was something lurking there. 


	10. Chapter Ten

Cal was deprived of food for almost three weeks, occasionally being deprived of water for a day or two. Even after that she wouldn’t and so Morgarath would let her have a measly meal that usually wasn’t cooked right, or just bread, once a day. Enough to keep her alive but not be comfortable. It was at random times she was allowed to eat so it was sometimes a another whole day before she could eat again. She thought it was much better than being completely deprived of food. There were some days she wasn’t given water, sometimes for almost two days. 

Not only was it physically trying on her it was a bit mentally challenging, to not break because of food and water deprivation. 

It was almost spring before she finally broke, To Morgarath’s delight she started telling him things he wanted to know. On one of the few days early on to her breaking, she was sitting across from his desk. Her voice was monotone and quiet, “And there’s a possibility if it was during the early fall it would hold Castle Araluen, to a point, defenseless.” She sighed, feeling sick.

Morgarath was sitting back in his chair across from her, a smirk stretched across his lips, he knew he was enjoying this too much, but he couldn’t help himself from bragging a bit. 

“Is this not easier, being cooperative, than sitting there starving for not giving simple knowledge.” He chuckled bitterly, “I think you’ve given me enough for today.”

Cal nodded slowly, she was trying not to think of herself as a traitor, but it was hard not to. She couldn’t just have continued to be starved. 

He thought he might give back her necklace, the one she had mentioned was her mother’s. He opened a drawer and searched for it for a moment before finding it and taking it out. This was the first time he had actually looked at it. It was beautiful, and vaguely familiar. It was probably because it was the banner of Gorlan back when he had been the Baron. He tossed it over to her, and it landed with a clink on the table. “As long as you continue to cooperate, you may keep it.”  

She nodded slowly, putting the necklace on quickly. She then placed it down her shirt so it was out of the way if she had to run, if she ever could. She was glad to have her mother’s necklace back around her neck. 

Morgarath frowned at the motion, that seemed familiar as well, but he couldn't place it. He ignored it and waved his hand dismissively.

“Maddox will bring you a meal shortly.”

She took that as she could leave, and she did. There was no one sitting there to take her back to her room, but she didn’t feel like wandering so she just went back to her room. She also didn’t want to get in trouble and lose the couple privileges she just got.

Once she was back it wasn’t long before Maddox walked in, setting down a decent meal, and water. He set it down on the small table, dragging a chair in to sit down on. Cal only had a stool. She sat down, starting to eat. If it was poisoned, or something similar, she could not care less about, she was hungry.

“Thank you for the food.” She said between bites of her bread roll that was on the plate.

“Of course. I don’t enjoy seeing you suffer like you have.” He stretched his legs out, yawning like he was bored. 

She frowned at his choice of words, tilting her head a bit. “But you don’t really care, do you?” She finished the bread roll before starting on the soup.

He shrugged. “It does no damage to me, but I still thinks it’s still wrong to me.” He then stretched his arms, putting his hands behind his head. 

Everyone thought that he looked a lot like Morgarath, which he tended to agree with as he stared at her. The same eyes, the same lips, and facial expression. Her attitude towards everything was the same as his as well. It was all probably pure coincidence. 

Cal  enjoyed her meal thoroughly, sighing when she put the last bit in her mouth. It had been very good. She did want more, but she knew she shouldn’t eat anymore. 

“Oh!” Maddox spoke suddenly after minutes of silence, “Morgarath said that you can explore the castle as your leisure, just not to go outside without an escort.” He had been a bit surprised by that much generosity from him.

Cal was dumbstruck by that for a moment. But contained her excitement, her eyes still lit up though. “Thank you.”

Maddox nodded, getting up and dragging the chair with him. “You should thank Lord Morgarath.”

She frowned as he left and shut the door behind him. Just because people called him the Lord of Night and Rain didn’t mean he was a lord. Though the more she thought about it the more that logic seemed to apply to her. She had betrayed her country, her king, her code, and worst of all, she had betrayed her mentor and father figure. She really wasn’t a ranger, just someone with a fake title, a traitor.

 


End file.
